2. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF JUST
LAWS
In order for a law to be valid, it must be just. A just law
has several features to it:
3. IT IS EQUAL
A just law treats everyone the same
BUT – this doesn’t mean that the outcome of the
law would necessarily be equal
Consider “anti-hoon” laws: there are often calls for
cars to be impounded and destroyed. Can you
explain how this might result in an unequal
outcome?
4. IT IS BASED ON WIDELY HELD VALUES
Laws should be based on the values and ethics
held by most of society
5. IT IS UTILITARIAN*
Laws need to be made for the benefit of society as
a whole, even though some individuals might be
disadvantaged by them.
* The philosophy of ensuring an action achieves its greatest good for
the greatest number of people
6. IT AIMS TO REDRESS INEQUALITIES
The law shouldn’t create inequality or injustice
For example, a law saying that women should be
paid less than men would be unjust
7. IT MUST MINIMISE DELAY
A just law aims to resolve disputes as soon as
practical
Many Australian laws are often criticised for failing
to do this
8. IT MUST NOT BE RETROSPECTIVE
Laws must be created for the future
It would be unjust to make a law today that was to
apply to everyone from the beginning of the year –
people could be punished for doing something that
was legal at the time of their actions, but has been
retrospectively made illegal
9. THE LAW MUST BE KNOWN
Australian governments use Government Gazettes
to alert people to changes in the law
Changes to the law are also advertised through the
media – eg when traffic laws change
10. THE NATURE OF JUSTICE
Justice is a combination of equality, fairness and
access. In many societies, justice is symbolised by
Lady Justice:
12. EQUALITY
Just laws do not discriminate
They are applied equally to all people
The enforcement of the law must also be equal
13. FAIRNESS
Just laws do not have a particularly harsh effect on
any individual
The right to appeal a decision is a key part of
fairness
Fairness and equality aren’t always mutual – it can
be argued that, in an attempt to create equality, the
concept of fairness has been lost
14. ACCESS
Individuals must be able to access the law in order
for justice to be achieved
They should have access to legal information and
assistance, and be able to understand the law
Recently, there have been attempts to make legal
documents (eg contracts) easier to understand by
using “plain English”
Access also includes physical access – the location
of courts and aid offices
